pick your battles
by chokecherries
Summary: Natsu presents Lucy with a book. She is slightly suspicious of his ulterior motives. — natsu/lucy


**title: **pick your battles

**summary: **Natsu presents Lucy with a book. She is slightly suspicious of his ulterior motives.

**pairing: **Natsu&Lucy, slight, _slight _GaLe, like, it's _super tiny _

**notes: **I am on a posting spree. Lalalala. I had so much fun writing this though, can't deny.

**disclaimer: **You hear that? It's the message screaming that I own nothing in this one-shot.

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><p><em>.<em>

_loving what you do boy, we oughta paint the town_

.

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><p>"Here, this is for you."<p>

Lucy narrows her russet-colored eyes and stares down at the object in her hands.

It is a book.

One that she has, honestly, been wanting for quite some time and between losing money on jobs, paying rent, and feeding and practically housing two other living beings, she's just not had the chance nor the jewels to buy it.

The blonde slowly looks up at her generous benefactor in suspicion. "Where did you get this?"

Natsu scoffs and crosses his arms. She tries to keep her mind on track and pushes the thought of how much she wishes he still wore an open vest away. "The book store, _duh_."

"Why are you giving me this? Why would _you _of all people, want to give me something like this? What can you gain from giving me something I've been wanting for a while, actually?" she stares at him, her eyes boring through his very soul.

Or at least, that's what Natsu feels like is happening.

He laughs nervously. "It's a…gift. You're so weird Luce."

Funny, how his voice is two octaves higher than it usually is.

"What have you done _now_?" Lucy inquires, taking a step forward.

Because it is just not like Natsu to suddenly give anyone something. Let alone a book. She realizes, with a certain loathing, that he has the money to buy it because he owns his home and doesn't have to buy food because he practically lives at _her _apartment most of the time.

Screw him and his flying blue Exceed.

Natsu nervously takes a generous step back, putting a wide berth between the blonde and himself. His action is understandable, because Lucy looks like she is about to unleash her righteous fury upon him.

She raises the book above her head in a threatening manner. She won't go through with it, of course, the book is much too precious after all, but it's just so much fun to see him cower before her. Moron, he _should _be afraid.

"_Natsu_, you dolt, what did you _do_?!"

The dragon-slayer throws his hands up in surrender. "Imayormaynothavesetyourkitchenonfire!"

Lucy stops cold, the book still raised to heaven above her head.

"What."

Natsu slowly inches along the wall of the guild library and away from her. "I may," he states slowly, "or may not have set your kitchen on fire."

She stares at him. Then at the book. Back to him, the book, him, the book, then –

Lucy explodes.

"_What_ –," she launches herself at him, "_were you _thinking?!" she screeches, tackling him to the floor and getting him into a choke hold.

He has a flashback to Edolas and Lucy Ashley's 'tactical' pain inducing methods and how she used them almost constantly on his counterpart, Natsu Dragion.

He pales.

"Lucy," he gasps, flailing, "I _didn't mean it_!"

The blonde is, however, too far gone to hear him.

"You _idiot_! Stupid, stupid, stupid! What will my landlady say now?! You know what?! You can take care of that! She has some weird crush on you or something so _to hell with me telling her if she hasn't already found out_! _You _can tell her! She won't murder _you_!"

Apparently, talking about the rather peculiar overlord that reigns over her has set Lucy off on another tangent, and she strengthens her strangle hold on Natsu.

"That woman! I swear! She steals my style! And she overcharges me! She even has a crush on the idiot _I'm_ in love with and I _swear_ –,"

Natsu suddenly stops his struggling. "What?"

Lucy looks at him. "I didn't say anything."

"You did too."

She scowls. "About what?"

"Something about you being in love."

Lucy's mind is suddenly screaming, '_Abort mission! ABORT MISSION!' _and her brain short-circuits. She lets Natsu go and they both tumble to the floor. He looks at her with a raised brow.

"No I didn't. I didn't say that. You're hearing things." she tops off her messy and unbelievable cover-up with nervous laughter.

Natsu narrows his eyes.

Lucy squirms.

"Lucy," his voice is low and sultry and it makes her skin crawl but in a good way, "_tell me._"

The blonde shrugs and grins widely before turning and high-tailing it out of the library, and out of Fairy Tail. Gajeel and Levy jump as she speeds by their table, and Pantherlily blinks in surprise.

"What the –,"

The iron dragon-slayer is cut off when Natsu comes rushing by, yelling for Lucy to stop. She flings the doors of Fairy Tail open and turns back with a dramatic flair before screaming at the top of her lungs.

"NO!"

She proceeds to practically fly out the doors, and down the street. Natsu soon follows, shoving a shocked Gray out of the way and into a table. The guild doors slam shut with a great 'BANG!' and all the occupants of Fairy Tail stare open-mouthed at the closed objects.

Levy blinks. "What was _that_?"

Gajeel shrugs, and they return to their game of cards.

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><p>"LUCY!" Natsu roars, dropping through her bedroom window and onto the floor.<p>

He would've come in through the door, you know, if she hadn't slammed it in his face and bolted it shut right after.

The blonde freezes, hand still on her bedroom doorknob. Natsu takes a step forward and she begins the process of slamming her bedroom door in his face. He stops her before that can happen, and tugs her into the kitchen before shoving her roughly up against the wall.

Lucy stares, wide-eyed as he bumps her forehead with his.

"Now," he seethes, "_tell me_."

The celestial mage prays that Aquarius will take this opportune time and show up to seek vengeance for something that Lucy hasn't done. She doesn't. Natsu scowls at her.

"W – well," she begins, stepping into uncharted territory, "how about the weather out there, huh?"

Natsu is not amused.

"I – I mean! Um, yeah! Yeah! So what if I'm in love?! What's it matter to you, stupid-head?!" Lucy shouts, hitting his arm. Her insults need work, darn. "I can love whoever I want to and you can't do a thing about it because mmph –!"

She is abruptly cut off when a pair of warm lips meet her own. Her eyes widen and she realizes that – _holy mother of literature _– Natsu Dragneel is _kissing her_!

When he pulls back, she is still wide-eyed and apparently, frozen. Although her left eye twitches every other second or so.

Natsu smirks, quite pleased with himself. "It matters because I love you, and you're mine."

_Of all the audacious bastards – ! _

She drops her book and throws her arms around his neck.

And they totally make-out in her toasted kitchen.

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><p><strong>end notes: <strong>I don't know. Blame it on the select songs by Cher Lloyd that I have on my iPod.


End file.
